The 10 day forecast for my area indicates nary a day with temps over 83 degrees. Should that prove true, I'll be one happy lady. I mean, I've learned to live with cooling mint tea and copious watermelon and cold showers and minimally cooked dinners like Glenn's gazpacho, but what I really want, what I really crave, is to wrap myself in a cardigan, eat hot steel-cut oats for breakfast, sip on hot tea, and watch the autumn leaves turn a riot of color and fall.

Growing up in Texas as a kid, watermelon was practically a main course on Sundays. Just the other day I was in the grocer (here in the Midwest) and I was knocking on a melon. The produce guy came over and asked if he could help me pick out a "good one." And I knocked a good one right in front of him and said, "Nope...this one is perfect!" He seemed surprised but suspicious and asked me how did I know? I told him I was raised in Texas by a father who taught me well. He immediately smiled and said, "I won't argue with a Texan. Texans know their watermelons!" Thanks for sharing.

About Me

Making an attempt to craft a good life with my husband and young son in a small mountain community. I find pleasure in the light at dusk, atlases, hard cider, cat antics, dog breath, baby giggles, homemade ice cream and snorty laughter.
Author of the "Homemade Living" book series (Lark Books) which showcases topics related to small-scale homesteading and some of the diverse ways people are reconnecting with their food and food communities and taking up sustainable food practices.
I also host a bi-monthly column every Friday on Design*Sponge:http://www.designspongeonline.com/category/small-measures.
E-mail me directly at: ashleyadamsenglish(at)gmail.com.

The Best LIttle Chicken Coop in Candler

"The Big Problem is nothing more or less than the sum total of countless little everyday choices, most of them made by us and most of the rest of them made in the name of our needs and desires and preferences."-Michael Pollan